Немецкая БМП HS.30: История, конструкция и проблемы

the similarly named Schützenpanzer 11 2

Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30, formally Schützenpanzer, lang, Typ 12 3, or SPz lg 12 3 for short (German for "Infantry tank, long, Type 12 3"), was a West German infantry fighting vehicle developed from 1956 to 1958. It was a Swiss Hispano Suiza design, with a Rolls Royce engine. After some early mechanical problems, only 2,176 were built of the 10,680 planned. It was armed with a powerful 20 mm autocannon, a common choice for infantry fighting vehicles of the period. Its design proved to have many flaws and drawbacks, and the construction was followed by a major political scandal in West Germany in the 1960s. 2,176 SPz HS.30 and variants were built until 1962, for which the German government paid 517 million DM; about 238,000 DM per vehicle. The HS.30 first entered service with the Panzergrenadier battalions in 1960 and was replaced by the Marder infantry fighting vehicle from 1971.

Rejecting American doctrine that an armored personnel carrier should serve as a "battlefield taxi" and not as an assault vehicle, the Germans developed the HS.30 as a vehicle to fight alongside tanks and from which their mechanized infantry could fight from under cover. The German military came to this decision as a result of its World War II experience with Panzergrenadiere (armored infantry). German doctrine saw the SPz 12 3 as part of the squad's equipment, and the squad was trained to fight with the vehicle in both offense and defense. Unlike the American M113, the HS.30 could not float, but as German doctrine envisaged the HS.30 as a component in operations combined with main battle tanks that also lacked such a capability, this was not seen as a grave disadvantage. The HS.30 mounted a small turret with a Hispano Suiza HS.820 20 mm autocannon and a 15×15 periscopic sight. The role of the 20 mm autocannon in German doctrine was to engage helicopters, anti tank weapons, and light armored vehicles, thus freeing tanks to concentrate their fire against other tanks. Even with the turret, the HS.30 was fully two feet (0.6 m) lower in height than the M113 making it a smaller target. The vehicle had an onboard supply of 2,000 rounds of 20 mm ammunition. Frontal armor provided protection against 20 mm projectiles, which was better than comparable vehicles of other nations. The additional armor made the HS.30 four tons heavier than the M113, even though it could only carry half as many troops. For the squad members to fire their personal weapons while mounted, roof hatches had to be opened with the soldiers sticking up out of the hatches. The Germans considered this a significant disadvantage as their likely opponent, the Soviet Army, was expected to use chemical agents in any war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Despite the German army's insistence on a true infantry fighting vehicle rather than just an armored personnel carrier, the Panzergrenadier brigades included an infantry battalion that was carried initially on trucks and later with M113 APCs. This force composition likely resulted as much from cost considerations as it did from doctrine that called for one third of the Panzergrenadiere to be a motorized force.

+Comparison of the SPz HS.30 and similar vehicles Vehicle Main weapon Frontal armor Height Infantry carried Introduction year SPz 12 3 Lang(Germany) 20 mm HS 820 30 mm at 45° 1.85 m 5 1960SPz 11 2 Kurz(Germany)20 mm HS 82015 mm at 62°1.97 m31959 AMX VCI(France) 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun(later 20mm autocannon) 15 mm at 45° 2.1 m 10 1957 M113(USA) 12.7 mm M2 HMG 38 mm aluminium at 45° 2.5 m 11 1960 BTR 50P(USSR) 7.62 mm SGMB machine gun(some with 14.5 mm heavy machine gun) 11 mm steel at 60° 1.97 m 20 1954 FV432(UK) 7.62 mm FN MAG 12.7 mm steel 2.28 m 10 1962 Pansarbandvagn 301(Sweden) 20 mm akan m/45B(Bofors 20 mm automatic gun L/70) 8 – 50 mm steel 2.64 m to top of gunmount 8 1961 Saurer 4K 4FA G2(Austria) 12.7 mm M2 HMG (or) 20 mm Oerlikon Model 204 12 – 20 mm steel 2.1 m 6 1961

The HS.30 AFV was introduced into the Bundeswehr in late 1959 but suffered from teething problems. Starting in 1974, the Marder IFV replaced the HS.30 in German armored infantry units. Peru received around 20 SPz HS.30s during the 1970s. Finally, some HS.30s were used as armored targets on gunnery ranges. The Bundeswehr Museum of German Defense Technology in Koblenz has one of these "HS 30 Mörser" in its collection.